All My Sons

One thing that we discussed in class that really grabbed my attention was the neighbors and why Miller might of put them in this play.

The play opens with Keller talking to the neighbors while sitting on his porch. As the reader you feel like this is a happy place where everyone is close and content with their lives. This contrasts how you feel when reading the scenes without the neighbors. Once Kate enters and starts yelling at Joe about the jail thing, you realize maybe everything's not okay and then you begin to wonder what could possibly be wrong.

I feel that if Miller didn't put the neighbors in the play then there would be no calm/comical moments. Instead the play would be full of tense moments, whether a upfront tense or a hidden tension between the characters. The neighbors are really important in making the tense scenes have more impact. If the whole play was tense the reader would get bored and not care anymore.

For those who didn't like the neighbors; how exactly did you feel the neighbors detracted from the play?

My Son is Crazy...but Promising

I went and saw this play on Saturday and I loved it. My first judgement of plays is always based off the same criteria, "Would I want to be in it?", and for this play the answer was "YES!" "My Son is Crazy...But Promising" was one of the greatest character plays I've ever watched. I'm the type of person who never wants to play the romantic lead, it's to boring, and always wants to play the villian or the crazy chorus person.

Then I thought; "Kate, you're in a Dramatic Liteature class and you have been taught how to analzye plays, now do it." So, on a second judgement of the play it was alright. It definitly was a play fit to be done in the college atmosphere. There was no substance to the plot and alot of what happened was downright unrealistic, and I'm not talking about the aliens. But since I'm on the topic of the aliens, I don't understand the point of having them peek into the scene's randomly. If they appeared before the end of the play that might of made more sense, but, since their offically made their enterance in the last second the peeking in through the front door made no sense to me.

So, on a first shallow analysis of this play it was wonderful. However on a second more indepth analysis of the play it wasn't as great as I thought it was. If I ever had the chance to perform in this play I would in a heartbeat but if I ever had the chance to watch this play again I don't think I would. Now, if anyone noticed something in the plot that I missed that would make the play make more sense to me please fill me in.

"Doubt A Parable"

Last year my High School English class went to see a local professional group do perform this play as one of the three plays we had to see that year and I thoroughly disliked it. So, when I heard that I had to read "Doubt" I wasn't all to excited about it. I understand the point that Shanley is trying to make in the play, that it is a statement about actions that have been taking place within the Church, and I think that he did a wonderful job in presenting that point. "Doubt" is wonderfully written and full of meaning but I just don't like it. After reading it I sat down and skimmed it over again in the hopes that I could figure out why I don't like the play. One of the reasons I came up with was the characters, none of which I liked. Father Flynn's character is just sketchy and I can see why Sister Aloysius had her doubts about him. Sister Aloysus just makes me angry with every word she says; she is a hot headed, hypocritical, mean person. Sister James is another person who just makes me angry with every word she says; she's simple and something about her makes me want to yell at her to open her eyes and stand up for herself. I don't even like Mrs. Muller, who's only in one scene. What kind of Mother tells the Principal of the school her kid is attending that it doesn't matter what Father James is doing to him as long as her son graduates from the school?

I did find however that I disliked it less when reading it then I did when I watched it being performed. I think that is because when watching it the physical gestures and physical statements of the characters intensified my dislike for them.

Did anyone feel completely turned off by this play? To the point where they stopped reading because they couldn't take it anymore?